IRVINE, CA, January 26, 2018 – EON Reality, Inc., the world leader in Augmented and Virtual Reality based knowledge transfer for industry and education, and the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy from Babeș-Bolyai University, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, released today the first prototype of a Virtual Reality based application for the assessment and modification of cognitive biases for promoting mental health, as part of the joint project “VR-Mind Regulation.”
Researchers and psychologists have regarded cognitive bias modification (CBM) interventions as a promising new approach in the treatment of mental health problems. CBM interventions work by changing the automatic ways in which patients with depression, anxiety and other psychological problems, process the information coming from the environment. However, most of the CBM procedures up until now do not accurately approximate the real-world, are not interactive, and do not immerse the patients in the experience. These features reduce the efficacy of the intervention as well as the motivation of the patients to practice with these new treatments.
To overcome these limitations, EON Reality and Babeș-Bolyai University’s (UBB) STAR Institute have teamed up to develop a new Virtual Reality (VR) application that can deliver CBM interventions in an immersive environment using an ecological and interactive interface, delivered via the latest generation of VR headsets. The application will be able to target all three types of biases, attention, memory and interpretation, both for measurement and treatment.
“The integration between immersive virtual-reality and the advances in clinical cognitive sciences will change the future of how mental health treatments are delivered, making them more efficacious/effective, more accessible and more appealing to the patients.” said Prof. Daniel David, Ph. D., coordinator of the UBB STAR Institute. “After it has been tested, we expect to have this application used by patients that have the required technology at home to use it as a tool, part of their treatment, under the guidance of a psychotherapist, monitoring their progress. We also expect that many research groups working on CBM to switch from computer-based applications, to immersive, VR-based ones, such as the application we are developing in the “VR-Mind Regulation” project.”
Mental health treatment delivered through Virtual Reality makes treatment more accessible and more appealing to patients
The application integrates gamification and customization features, which will increase the adherence of the patients and their satisfaction with the intervention protocol. The application is also developed to keep a close record of user’s behavior, which will make it a powerful research tool.
“The collaboration between Babeș-Bolyai University and EON Reality is extremely powerful as it combines the deep subject-matter expertise of the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy and the advanced capabilities of EON Reality in Augmented and Virtual Reality applications and platform development and implementation. We are delighted to make together Virtual Reality have a positive impact in psychotherapy.” said Mats Johansson, President of EON Reality.
About EON Reality
EON Reality is the world leader in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) based knowledge transfer for industry and education. EON Reality’s success is tied to its belief that knowledge is a human right and should be available, accessible, and affordable for every human on the planet. To carry this out, EON Reality, since 1999, has developed the de-facto standard for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality based knowledge transfer software that supports devices from mobile phones to large immersive domes. EON Reality’s global app development network, with twenty-two locations worldwide, has created the world’s leading AR/VR library for knowledge transfer with over 7,000 applications. Over 36 million people worldwide have downloaded these applications. For further information, visit www.eonreality.com.
